26th July 2025, I won my boxing match. This is my second official win !
I am so proud of myself because I worked really hard for this fight. It took me 12month of getting ready. This is how I always been progressing in boxing. Working hard is needed of course but it needs strategy. Anyone can win boxing match.
If you are looking to progress in boxing and maybe want to participate in boxing match, here are my ways of progressing with strategies. I hope you implement these.
Credit pic : @hafizspencer (IG HANDLE of photographer)
5 Deliberate Practice
STRENGTH & WEAKNESS
If your boxing coach ever mention to you about what you need to work on, you do that. If they keep repeating the same common mistake like :
watch out for feet when moving lateral, don’t let them cross over then that is the one you want to be practicing first. I will keep everything else second. For example my coach says keep my core and hip in over and over again. That is why I keep that the main thing to work on first every time. I will do it outside boxing gym too. This way you will be consistent and able to correct bad habit quickly.
Your strength maybe you are a pressure fighter than work on that style. Or you are better with hands down or moving lateral and angles, then keep it and keep working on your strength. Eventually these strengths are what make your style.
SPARRING
There are two kinds of sparring session. Technical sparring and also hard sparring. Both are necessary in my opinion. For beginner, go for technical sparring twice a week. Some gyms do have this in their class lesson. When you get partner up with someone, that is the time to test yourself that mimicks a real fight. Again, use feedback from your partner.
I recommend to have hard sparring once a week. Why? It will be exactly like a real fight. For my first fight, I rarely do hard sparring when I get in the ring, the first round was a slight shocked to me. Learn my lesson hard and I make sure I get 1 hard sparring once every week now. It is the only to keep myself sharp. P.s Ask your coach to find you someone who can help you out. This person should be helping you out without trying to beat you up.
RUNNING
Boxing is stamina. Power, speed, agility comes from your legs not your arms. Running is one big part of my training because running really helps my lungs to keep going even when my mind can’t push further. While I run, that is also the time I visualize how I want to fight or what I do if my opponent certain way.
FUEL
Food is something you need to perform. Sometimes you might be feeling tired during training because you did eat the right food. Regardless if you are using boxing to lose weight. I recommend carbohydrate for example rice, potatoes, banana, dates or even white bread if it is 1 hour or less before training. You might be thinking why carbs before training? I have a whole post about this.
RECORDING – FEEDBACK
I have been recording my own training in class, sparring session since the first day of boxing class. This really helps me to see what I am lacking of and if i have improvement. Which part makes me cringe and which one I got it right. This way bad habit doesn’t stick too long.
You have to learn how to watch out for your own bad habit and pair this with your coach feedback. This way you can progress by leaps and bound before a fight.
MOBILITY
This is not only about stretching. Mobility is combination of strength and flexibility in a joint’s full range of motion. For example :
Flexibility: you can drop into a split passively
Mobility: you can drop into a deep squat with control and stability.
It’s what allows you to move efficiently, safely, and with power.
Mobility is everything that lets you move fluidly, fast, and without restriction inside the ring. Here is what you can do other than making it more available. Example of mobility for some body part:
For Hips (power + weaving)
- Hip Circles (90/90 transitions)
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- Sit on the floor with both knees bent at 90°.
- Rotate hips side-to-side, switching from left to right.
- Builds rotational control for weaving/rolling
For Shoulders (punch speed + guard fluidity)
- Scapular Push-ups
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- In push-up position, keep arms straight, pinch shoulder blades together, then push apart.
- Strengthens shoulder mobility for snapping punches.
- Band Pull-Apart (light resistance band)
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- Hold band at chest height, pull apart, squeeze shoulder blades.
- Opens up chest and balances boxing’s forward posture.
RECOVERY
I am so focused on this part of my training before anything else. I have notice when I don’t sleep enough or well I can’t seem to stay sharp while training. My reaction is way slower. I have this title i call myself “professional sleeper” hahaha. I would focus on my bedtime and deep sleep. You can go for massages, sauna, cold plunge but the best recovery is sleep. For women we do need 8-9hours. I usually function best at 7.5hr but when it comes to twice a day training, I need 8 hours. It might be different for you.
SUMMARY
Try out 1 deliberate practice for 2 weeks before adding on something else. Go ahead and test it all of these above and let me know how you did and what you add on and share it here with me.